PROPOSALS for a new boar warning sign along Swindon hotspots and the M4 have been met with mixed opinions by MPs.

At the weekend, there were reports Roads Minister John Hayes was considering a “beware of boar” road sign after the fatal motorway collision near Swindon last week.

The new sign could be put up along stretches of roads near areas where there are known to be wild boar, along with barriers to keep out the 20 stone animals.

The plans, to be discussed by transport officials, follow the death of Raymond Green, of Royal Wootton Bassett,who died when his car collided with a boar that had strayed on to the M4.

North Wiltshire MP James Gray does not believe the signs would be the right action to take in light of the tragedy.

He said: “We don’t know where they are. Unless we are going to have signs everywhere, what’s the point?

“I am also concerned the Government would use this measure as a way of absolving themselves from further action.

“What we need is culling of those animals. The Forest of Dean has just culled 600 of them.

“I can’t see much point in them making thousands more road signs all over the place when this is the first and only incident in a hundred years.

“People would end up driving past them every day, ignoring them and the next time it happens will be a place where there are no signs.

“We need to find out what the population is and consider how to deal with it.

“If it’s big, go for the cull. If they’re escaping from local farms, we must find ways of making sure that doesn’t happen.”

Robert Buckland, the MP for South Swindon, where the incident occurred, said he hoped his friendship with Mr Hayes would assist in progressing the plans.

"I will raise the issues directly with the Roads Minister, who has already expressed great concern about the terrible incident,” he said.

“I have yet to encounter wild boar on our motorways or driving through the rural bits of the constituency.

“Across large parts of the M4, there is a growing body of evidence this is a growing problem.

“I will be raising the issue myself, along with my colleague James Gray, directly this week.

“John Hayes happens to be a good friend of mine and I will be raising that directly with him in writing and by way of representation in person.

“We don’t want to go overboard with the signs, but where we have got a real risk with a major arterial road in Swindon, we have to avoid loss of life and injury.

“I’m confident we can make some progress, though I’m not immediately aware of the steps needed to get these signs erected.”